Concrete wall under compression provided with an opening



March 11, 1947. CROM 2,411,190

CONCRETE WALL UNDER COMPRESSION PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING Filed Dec. 15, 1942 Patented Mar. 11, 1947 CONCRETE PROVIDED WALL UNDER COMPRESSION WITH AN OPENING John M. Crom, Washington, D. 0.

Application December 15, 1942, Serial No. 469,082

This invention relates to preloaded concrete construction and more particularly to a concrete wall held in compression by tensioned reinforcement and having an opening therethrough for the passage of a fluid-conducting pipe or the like. One application of use for the invention is in connection with gas holders of the nature disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 575,287, filed January 30, 1945, and embodying a concrete or gunite tank held under preloaded compression. It is desirable that the gas conducting pipe shall pass through the tank wall and that the preloaded Wall shall not be weakened thereby or lose its compression. The primary object of my invention resides in a novel construction for effecting this objective.

The invention more especially concerns tanks held in compression by rod reinforcement extending circumferentially therearound and having an opening therethrough of asize normally to intersect some of the rod reinforcement in theplane of the opening. The invention contemplates means for so cooperating with such reinforcement at the opening as to conduct it around the opening and maintain the same in tension and the tank-incompression in the plane of the opening. In a preferred embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, this means incorporates the employment of a steel frame surrounding the opening and having opposite end portions thereof connected to the rod reinforcement, whereby to maintain the tank portion thus encompassed in compression and leave the opening free for the passage therethrough of pipes or the like.

Also preferably cooperating with and bonded to the concrete Wall at the opening is other steel reinforcement for sustaining at the opening the compression load effected by the tensioned rod reinforcement in the plane of the opening, This other reinforcement is also preferably arranged to cooperate with packing in the opening between said other steel reinforcement and a pipe extending through the opening whereby to seal the opening in the wall outside the pipe. The production of a novel construction of this nature and for the purpose described comprises a further object of the invention.

These and other features of the invention will be best understoodand appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a tank incorporating my invention,

3 Claims. (Cl. 72-6) Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view thereof on a reduced scale,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line il of Fig. 1.

In the drawing, it] indicates a concrete tank having a side wall embodying a relatively thick body portion I2, reinforcing rods l 4 extending entirely therearound circumferentially, either annularly or spirally, and a covering layer 16 of cementitious material over and bonded to the rods and to the body l2. The rods are in tension placing and holding the wall in compression. One object of the invention consists in the placing of a fluid conducting pipe I 8 in and through the side wall without weakening the wall or diminishing the compression in which it is held by the rod reinforcement. The novel construction illustrated in the drawing'for effecting this object will now be described.

The tank wall I2 is constructed with an opening 2i] therethrough and the rods l i are applied to the outer face of this wall, the rods extending continuously past the opening on two opposite sides thereof, above and below. I also apply to the outer face of the wall and about the opening a steel frame embodying side plates 22 and end plates 2d. the plates 22 being welded at their ends to the plates 24. Rods 26 are disposed circumfere'ntially about the wall 12 between and parallel to the rods I4 in the plane of the opening 2?] and the ends of these rods are welded to the plates 24 of the frame. The rods l4 and 26 are then tensioned whereby placing the tank in com pression. It will be apparent that tensioning of the rods I l places the wall therebeneath in compression and tensioning of the rods 26 in like manner places the wall therebeneath and in the plane of the opening in compression, the frame 22-24 serving to connect the ends of the rods 25 at the opening.

The rods are placed in a considerable tension setting up a very substantial compression load on the tank wall therebeneath and when such a high compression load is employed it is quite essential the opening and form the outer wall or liner surface of the opening. The opening is preferably of oblong shape having a long axis parallel with the rods M and 26 and a short axis transversely thereof, whereby providing a duct through the wall of substantial cross sectional area which intersects a minimum number of the circumferential reinforcing rods. The angle iron reinforcement within the opening is preferably in the form of an annulus, whereby better to sustain the compression load, and I have illustrated the angle irons 28 as supplemented by arcuate angle irons 34 at their ends, the irons 28 and 34 being of like cross sectional shape and butt-welded together to provide a continuous liner surface 32 about the opening,

The portion of the pipe l8 passing through the opening 20 is of a shape conforming to the opening and of a size leaving a narrow annular gap between the pipe and the surface 32, and this gap is packed in a manner sealing the opening through the wall outside the pipe. A continuous stop 36 is formed on the angle irons 28 and 34 and packing 38 is placed in the annular gap against this stop. A plurality of threaded studs 40 are secured in spaced relation to the front angle irons 28 and about the opening and extend outwardly beyond the frame 22-24. A keeper l2, angular in cross section and constructed in one annular piece or in sections, has one portion thereof engaging over the studs and a relatively angular portion in abutting contact with the packing. Nuts 44 are provided on the studs for forcing the keeper in contact with the packin whereby holding the packing compressed between the keeper and the stop 36.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the front angle irons 2S and 34 preferably extend outwardly beyond the front face of the wall I2 in position to receive the frame 22-24 thereover. After the wall 28 has hardened sufficiently and the rods I4 and 26 together with the frame 22-44 have been applied and tensioned, the entire front face of the tank' is coated with a layer I6 of cementitious material projected thereonto in well known man ner from a compressed air cement gun, this layer bonding the several elements into a unit with the wall l2. The annulus 2834 is bonded in the wall l2 and gives full and substantial support at the opening 20 to the compression exerted on the wall l2 by the rods 26. My invention therefore provides a preloaded tank or the like with an opening'through its wall without weakening the wall or diminishing the preloaded compression thereof.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A monolithic concrete wall having an opening therethrough bounded by the wall about the entire margin and. greater in width than in height, reinforcement extending parallel with the wall at opposite sides of the opening and along and adjacent to the two longer sides thereof, said reinforcement being in high tension and holding the wall adjacent thereto and to the opening in substantial compression, and steel reinforcement within and bonded directly to the wall along said opposite sides of the opening for sustaining at the opening the compression effected by the first named reinforcement.

2. The wall defined in claim 1 in which said steel reinforcement comprises an annulus within and bonded directly to the wall at and about said opening.

3. A monolithic concrete wall having an opening therethrough bounded by the wall about its entire margin, horizontal reinforcement extending parallel with the wall at the top and bottom sides of the opening and along and adjacent to said sides, said reinforcement being in high tension and holding the wall adjacent thereto in substantial compression, other horizontal reinforcement having a major portion thereof remote from the opening and located between and substantially parallel with the first-named reinforcement and in the plane of the opening and a minor portion located adjacent to and along said sides of the opening, said other reinforcement being in tension holding the wall adjacent to the opening in compression, and steel reinforcement within and bonded directly to the wall along said top and bottom sides of the opening for sustaining at the opening the compression effected by said other reinforcement.

JOHN M. CROM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,141,000 I-lohl Dec. 20,1938 1,354,507 Myers Oct. 5, 1920 1,882,942 Ross Oct. 18, 1932 1,164,843 Moad Dec. 21, 1915 2,185,749 Kennedy Jan. 2, 1940 2,234,139 Martin et al Mar. 4, 1941 1,642,552 Millice Sept. 13, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 326,678 British Mar. 20, 1938 OTHER REFERENCES Concrete Plain & Reinforced by Taylor et al., vol. 1, page 375. 

